Coronavirus in Texas

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Texas reports 10,791 new coronavirus infections and 110 new deaths, both record highs

by Texas Tribune Staff Updated: 1 hour ago

The state also reported 10,471 current hospitalizations due to the coronavirus. Full Story 

Photo credit:  Emily Albracht

Latest coverage

• Distilleries, wineries shuttered by Gov. Greg Abbott's bar shutdown say they should be exempted

  by Reese Oxner 21 minutes ago

  Distillery and winery owners say their businesses are different from traditional bars, which Abbott closed after COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations began to climb in June. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune

• Texas officials scramble to provide school reopening guidelines with only weeks of summer left

  by Aliyya Swaby 2 hours ago

  Conflicting mandates pingponging between state and local officials are frustrating many parents, students and teachers trying to plan for a fall semester during a raging pandemic. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune

• Texas A&M System will provide free COVID-19 tests, but it’s a mixed bag for other schools

  by Stacy Fernández 3 hours ago

  Up to 15,000 test kits will be available per month across its 11 universities. The system has set aside $16 million to pay for the testing program. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune

• Julián and Joaquin Castro criticize Gov. Greg Abbott for reopening Texas too soon

  by Valeria Olivares 6 hours ago

  Julián Castro said Abbott made three consequential mistakes: reopening the state too early, not pushing hard enough to get adequate testing or contact tracing, and banning local officials from requiring masks in the earlier months of the pandemic. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

• Texas classrooms can stay closed this fall without losing state funding if local health officials order it

  by Aliyya Swaby 6 hours ago

  School districts won't lose state funding if they stick with virtual classes this fall because a local health authority has mandated that classrooms remain closed. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune

• Texas will extend time that schools will be allowed to stay online-only, Gov. Greg Abbott says

  by Aliyya Swaby and Patrick Svitek Updated: July 14, 2020

  Schools had previously been told that they would need to limit online-only instruction to the first three weeks of the school year, or they'd lose state funding. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the U.S. And during the pandemic, an estimated 659,000 Texans lost their health care.

  by Sarah R. Champagne July 14, 2020

  The pandemic-driven economic downturn has left more than 5.4 million Americans with no job and no insurance. Texas has one of the largest shares of this increase. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Martin do Nascimento for the Texas Tribune

• This asylum seeker fled to Texas to escape violence, only to test positive for coronavirus while fighting deportation

  by Julián Aguilar July 14, 2020

  Two sisters fled Guatemala six years apart. The older sister received asylum and settled in California. The younger one was denied and is now fighting COVID-19 in an El Paso detention center. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Eric Gay via AP POOL

• In reversal, federal government will allow international students to stay in the U.S. while taking only online classes

  by Raga Justin July 14, 2020

  The repeal follows outspoken criticism from universities, legal experts and higher education advocates, who deemed the rules unfairly punitive for foreign students. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune

• Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff

  by Edgar Walters, Shannon Najmabadi and Emma Platoff July 14, 2020

  Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• Thousands of Texas prisoners still have the coronavirus. More than 25% of inmates at four units are infected.

  by Jolie McCullough July 14, 2020

  At one prison, more than 750 inmates were actively infected with the coronavirus Monday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune

• Republican Party of Texas leaders opt for virtual convention after loss at state Supreme Court

  by Cassandra Pollock Updated: July 13, 2020

  An executive committee vote late Monday capped a weekslong whirlwind of controversy and legal battles over the party's initial plans for an in-person event. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune

• Texas runoff elections show stress of coronavirus pandemic on state’s voting systems

  by Alexa Ura July 13, 2020

  Disabled and older voters have encountered the most problems navigating mail-in balloting as they try to avoid going to polling places. In-person voting has been generally smooth so far in the low-turnout runoffs. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

• Analysis: Greg Abbott’s critics lose political clout as Texas COVID numbers climb

  by Ross Ramsey July 13, 2020

  The governor is increasing restrictions as the coronavirus worsens in Texas, and is beset by trolls from inside his own party for doing so. But for the first time in this pandemic, he's ignoring them. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune

• Feeding tubes, hallucinations and numb toes: One Texan’s battle to survive COVID-19

  by Shannon Najmabadi July 12, 2020

  When pharmacist Frank Arredondo was wheeled on a stretcher into a South Texas ward for coronavirus patients in early April, his wife wondered if they would ever see each other again. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• A singular figure in Texas’ coronavirus response, Gov. Greg Abbott leads a state headed in an alarming direction

  by Emma Platoff July 11, 2020

  The coronavirus pandemic has proved a leadership test like no other for the second-term governor. He holds nearly all power over the state’s response as it careens toward crisis. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman

• Why one Texas bar owner joined a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott

  by Alana Rocha, Todd Wiseman and Justin Dehn July 11, 2020

  Chris Bergeron is one of more than 30 bar owners suing Gov. Greg Abbott for an executive order that effectively shuttered bars. Listen to what Bergeron had to say about the order's impact in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Courtesy of Chris Bergeron

• As Texas morgues fill up, refrigerator trucks are on the way in several counties

  by Sarah R. Champagne July 10, 2020

  More than 3,000 Texans have died from the coronavirus and counties are preparing for even more deaths by expanding their capacities to store bodies. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune

• Gov. Greg Abbott warns if spread of COVID-19 doesn’t slow, “the next step would have to be a lockdown”

  by Alex Samuels Updated: July 10, 2020

  Abbott has repeated that warning multiple times in local television interviews this week. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman

• Houston hospitals are increasingly turning away new patients as coronavirus overwhelms emergency rooms

  by Charles Ornstein, ProPublica and Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News July 10, 2020

  The busiest hospitals in Houston are increasingly telling emergency responders they cannot safely accept new patients as hundreds of coronavirus patients crowd emergency rooms, and hospitals scramble to open more intensive care space. Full Story 

  Photo credit:  May-Ying Lam for the Texas Tribune